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Jazz Articles about Peter Sommer

Album Review

Ben Markley: Ari's Funhouse

Read "Ari's Funhouse" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Accade spesso nel jazz che dagli incontri estemporanei nascano le cose migliori. Il bandleader e arrangiatore Ben Markley e il batterista Ari Hoenig si sono conosciuti nel 2019 in un jazz festival del Texas. Da quell'incontro è nato questo progetto discografico, che ha visto Markley orchestrare le composizioni di Hoenig per la big band che guida a Denver. Il batterista è ospite dell'ensemble e dà il suo contributo con un vivace e articolato sostegno ritmico. L'album è stato registrato nel ...

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Album Review

Wil Swindler: Space Bugs

Read "Space Bugs" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Space Bugs is essentially multi-layered yet readily accessible chamber jazz admirably performed by saxophonist/composer Wil Swindler's Colorado-based Eleventet—a finely woven banquet for the ears that was handsomely recorded in May 2022 before an appreciative audience at Denver's Mighty Fine Productions. Gil Evans springs to mind when listening, as do Pete Rugolo and late- career Bob Brookmeyer. As a composer, Swindler writes that he has “always been between worlds," loving “the pristine intervals and warm timbres of orchestral ...

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Album Review

Ben Markley Big Band: Ari's Funhouse

Read "Ari's Funhouse" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Ari's Funhouse, recorded in July 2021, sprang from a chance encounter at a Texas jazz festival in 2019 between New York-based drummer & composer Ari Hoenig and Denver-based pianist & arranger Ben Markley. After performing with Hoenig in a small group, Markley asked if he might score some of Hoenig's songs for a big band. Hoenig readily agreed, and after a lengthy Covid-induced pause, he and Markley's band finally met face-to-face in Denver to record the album. Two things are ...

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Album Review

Peter Sommer: Tremolo Canteen

Read "Tremolo Canteen" reviewed by Florence Wetzel


Like food, music can be hastily prepared and obvious, or it can be thoughtfully concocted, with delicious subtleties of flavor and seasoning. Saxophonist Peter Sommer's standout Tremolo Canteen is happily the latter, full of intricate layers and quiet surprises, performed by four excellent musicians who came of age in the Denver jazz scene. Sommer's tenor lines are strong and multifaceted, and yet at the same time there's a quality to his playing that's refreshingly understated. He can ...

Album Review

Peter Sommer: Crossroads

Read "Crossroads" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff


Per l´esordio da leader il sassofonista tenore Peter Sommer non ha scelto la strada più facile, andando a chiamare a completare il gruppo il collega Rich Perry, a lungo nella big band di Tad Jones/Mel Lewis ed in quella di Maria Schmeider. Un incontro quello dei due sassofoni tenori, che ha illustri precedenti nel passato e che si muove sulla strada di un mainstream fatto con cura e comunque ben radicato nel passato. Nessuna novità, quindi: si tratta di un ...

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Album Review

Peter Sommer: Crossroads

Read "Crossroads" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


It takes self-confidence and talent for a new musician to lock horns with a more experienced practitioner of the same instrument, and tenor saxophonist Peter Sommer has plenty of both. His only other recording was a collaborative effort with pianist Art Lande, and this second recording is his first as a leader. On this record, Sommer's seasoned partner is Rich Perry, a veteran of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and a member of the Maria Schneider ...

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Album Review

Peter Sommer: Crossroads

Read "Crossroads" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


Tenor saxophonist Peter Sommer is at the Crossroads with Rich Perry (tenor saxophone), Eric Gunnison (piano), Ken Walker (bass) and Todd Reid (drums), as they parlay a selection of standards and originals into an interesting journey through focus and commitment.

Sommer is not apprehensive in reshaping a standard and taking it in a new direction. In doing so, he raises the stakes in tandem with Perry. The contrast in their styles makes it all the more ...


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